WEIRD, BUT SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS IDEAS

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

How one man left computer programming and turned the hobby he loved into a lucrative profession.

Boyd Myers left home in Texas, and a solid job as a computer programmer with the Air Force, to become a personal trainer - and that's when his career really skyrocketed.

After joining the Air Force out of high school in 1994, Myers got stationed in Montgomery, Alabama in 1996. There, he spent so much time working out at Gold's Gym that the gym finally offered him a part-time job in exchange for a free membership.

Myers, now 30, said he was happy to help others with their workout, but soon, "people started asking me to train them on the side," he said, so he insisted he would help them free of charge.Soon he was working with clients 25 hours a week while trying to balance personal training with his programming job in the Air Force. That's when he decided to get certified, Myers said, and start charging for the services he provided.

After being discharged in 2004 with an annual salary of around $42,000 and 10 years of experience under his belt, Myers decided to become a full-time personal trainer instead of pursuing a career in computers. "That's what I liked," he said.

He rented a studio in San Antonio, Texas for $2,500 a month and hired two full-time trainers and put his computer skills to work building a Web site and mastering key words and cues used by search engines. "When people search (online) for trainers in San Antonio, they find me."

"The first two months we were open, we grossed $70,000 a month." Now, Myers, who charges $75 to $90 an hour, says he brings in approximately $250,000 a year through his studio and plans to open another one in the area soon.

"My goal is to open 20 studios or franchise."

He says he has about $250,000 in savings and a $900 monthly pension from the VA that covers most expenses, including phone, Internet, electricity, cable and gas.Myers says he spends conservatively but doesn't save obsessively, "I would rather enjoy life."